For example, “Falling for the First Time,” the band’s first song headlining the four-band Last Summer on Earth Tour show Friday at Sands Bethlehem Event Center, literally felt like it was playing someone else’s song.

It was the same on a good number of the 17 songs (including a couple of short joke ones; more about that later) in the band’s 68-minute set, as guitarist Ed Robertson handled nearly all the vocals himself.

It was particularly true on “It’s All Been Done,” the third song and first hit the band played.

The next thing you notice about The Barenaked Ladies in concert these days is how much it had become Robertson’s band. “It’s All Been Done,” for example, was ballsier, as was the straight-forward-rock “The Old Apartment,” on which Robertson’s vocals also were more emphatic.

Robertson

All of that is not to say the show wasn’t good. It was – better than the vast majority of bands out there today. But it was a clearly diminished show.

Even the band’s humor, for which is well known, seemed different – thought there still was plenty of it. The night’s second song was a rap, seemingly at least partially spontaneous, about ground rules at the Sands Casino. Later, Robertson dedicated “Four Seconds,” the only song from the group’s only post-Page album “All in Good Time,” to “the approximately 74.000 elderly Asians I saw at the casino.”

They joked the former Bethlehem Steel blast furnaces were Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. “First Jesus was born here, then it was Willy Wonka’s original factory.” [Robertson also said he saw Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” at SteelStacks’ “very cool, very nice little” Banko Alehouse Cinema.]

And before playing a short “Sweet Home Alabama,” Robertson jokingly said, “This is something we played in this very room last night [It actually was Lynyrd Skynyrd]. I wish people would go to Lynyrd Skynyrd concerts and yell [for the song] ‘Pinch Me!’”

And before “Blame It On Me” from the band’s 1992 debut album “Gordon,” Robertson said, “soon we’ll be heading into a cavalcade of hits, starting with this one from ‘Led Zeppelin IV’” and started playing “Stairway to Heaven.”

“Blame It On Me” was played in an acoustic set-up, all four band members at the front of the stage with two acoustic guitars, and stand-up drums and bass with bow. It had nice instrumentation, Robertson’s voice was piercing.

Blues Traveler's John Popper

But Roberston’s remark also was an acknowledgment that, in playing deeper cuts in a shorter set, the band left out significant songs, such as “Another Postcard,” “Testing 1,2,3” and what would seem a natural – the Robertson-song “Easy.”

Instead, the band included the slight “Four Seasons,” “Too Little Too Late” and a song bassist Jim Creeggan said, “we never play,” “Unfinished” from 2003’s “Everything to Everyone.” [Creeggan, by the way, was very animated, moving all over stage]. The band new “Boomerang” was better -- smoother and softer, a lot like the band’s early songs. And the band’s theme to the TV show “The Big Band Theory” was very good – as good as the old hits.

But the set-ending run of hits was, indeed, by far the best.

Page also was missed on “Brian Wilson.” But it started with Robertson on acoustic guitar, with the crowd cheering and singing along, the kicked in strong. “Pinch Me” was not as sharp, with an updated sound, but still was very good. And “One Week” was much more rap without Page, but the band made up for it with an in-your-face light show – a surprising stage show for the band,

And “If I Had a Million Dollars” was rescued by Blues Traveler’s John Popper joining in on crazy harmonica. Robertson changed the lyrics to say, “we’d build a little casino there, and John Popper could play.”

The encore was an awkward “Alcohol,” with a snippet of LMFAO’s “Shots,” with drummer Tyler Stewart taking over vocals while Robertson sat on drums. And then a short version of Thin Lizzy’s “Jailbreak.”

Yes, it was fun. But not the fun the band was with Page.

Supporting act Blues Traveler was far more fun in a conventional way – with very good music and a slamming performance, particularly by front man John Popper, who peppered the 47-minute, eight-song set with references to his time as an area resident.

“Great to see you in my own hometown,” Popper told the crowd. “This is my hometown, basically – 10 miles south.” That drew cheers from the crowd – looking to be something above 2,000 – as did Popper’s harmonica blast on the opening “Sweet Talking Hippie.”

He also talked about living in Quakertown for a decade and eating at the McDonald’s on Route 313 – “That was for me!” he said. And before “Canadian Rose,” he remembered that a version of “Run-Around” from Stabler Arena was the most-watched YouTube version. [Though he at first pronounced “Stabler” as “Staples” before being corrected by the crowd.]

“Run-Around” was loose and ragged, but very good, with the crowd singing along and Popper screaming himself hoarse. And Big Head Todd & The Monsters front man Todd Park Mohr joined in.

Blues Traveler’s version of Sublime’s ”What I Got” was far better than the original band’s performance of it two weeks ago at Musikfest, with Popper growling out lyrics. And played as more jammy rock than reggae/ska, the harmonica worked really well.

Cracker front Man David Lowery

Even two songs from the band’s new disc, “Suzie Cracks the Whip,” were solid. “All Things are Possible,” more reggae with acoustic guitar, had Popper leaning back his head and pushing his voice to a rasp. And “You Don’t Have to Love Me” was strong enough to close the set, with swirling organ and Popper’s harmonica whistling.

The two opening acts were a mixed bag.

Big Head Todd’s 38-minute set had great, chugging, blues instrumentation, starting with the opening “Bittersweet.” And nice piano and keyboard on “Broken Hearted Savior.” But the sound mix was hopelessly muddy – easily the worst I’ve ever heard at the Event Center.

Still, a cover of LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It” played as Delta blues was incredibly good and fun. And the closing “Rocksteady” was good, too.

Opener Cracker, on the other hand, gave a25-minute set that was so rote, it was as if the band was doing it under duress. The opening “Eurotrash Girl” has a nice country vibe, as did “Tune In Turn On Drop Out With Me.” But generally, the band seemed bored.

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JOHN J. MOSER has been around long enough to have seen the original Ramones in a small club in New Jersey, U2 from the fourth row of a theater and Bob Dylan's born-again tours. But he also has the number for All-American Rejects' Nick Wheeler on his cell phone, wrote the first story ever done on Jack's Mannequin and hung out in Wiz Khalifa's hotel room.

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS

JODI DUCKETT: As The Morning Call's assistant features editor responsible for entertainment, she spends a lot of time surveying the music landscape and sizing up the Valley's festivals and club scene. She's no expert, but enjoys it all — especially artists who resonated in her younger years, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Tracy Chapman, Santana and Joni Mitchell.

KATHY LAUER-WILLIAMS enjoys all types of music, from roots rock and folk to classical and opera. Music has been a constant backdrop to her life since she first sat on the steps listening to her mother’s Broadway LPs when she was 2. Since becoming a mother herself, she has become well-versed on the growing genre of kindie rock and, with her son in tow, can boast she has seen a majority of the current kid’s performers from Dan Zanes to They Might Be Giants.

STEPHANIE SIGAFOOS: A Jersey native raised in Northeast PA, she was reared in a house littered with 8-tracks, 45s and cassette tapes of The Beatles, Elvis, Meatloaf and Billy Joel. She also grew up on the sounds of Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw and can be found traversing the countryside in search of the sounds of a steel guitar. A fan of today's 'new country,' she digs mainstream/country-pop crossovers like Lady Antebellum and Sugarland and other artists that illustrate the genre's diversity.